Portal:Bahrain

The Bahrain Portal

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Flag of the Kingdom of Bahrain
Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Bahrain
Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Bahrain
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Bahrain (/bɑːˈrn/ (listen) bah-RAYN; /bæxˈrn/; Arabic: البحرين, romanized: al-Baḥrayn, locally [æl baħˈreːn] (listen)), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island which makes up around 83 percent of the country's landmass. Bahrain is situated between Qatar and the northeastern coast of Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by the King Fahd Causeway. The current population of Bahrain is 1,870,817 as of May 14, 2023, based on elaborations of the latest United Nations data, of whom 712,362 are Bahraini nationals. Bahrain spans some 760 square kilometres (290 sq mi), and is the third-smallest nation in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore. The capital and largest city is Manama.

Bahrain is the site of the ancient Dilmun civilization. It has been famed since antiquity for its pearl fisheries, which were considered the best in the world into the 19th century. Bahrain was one of the earliest areas to be influenced by Islam, during the lifetime of Muhammad in 628 AD. Following a period of Arab rule, Bahrain was ruled by the Portuguese Empire from 1521 until 1602, when they were expelled by Shah Abbas I of the Safavid dynasty. In 1783, the Bani Utbah clan captured Bahrain from Nasr Al-Madhkur and it has since been ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family, with Ahmed al Fateh as Bahrain's first hakim.

In the late 1800s, following successive treaties with the British, Bahrain became a protectorate of the United Kingdom. In 1971, it declared independence. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared an Islamic constitutional monarchy in 2002. In 2011, the country experienced protests inspired by the regional Arab Spring. Bahrain's ruling Sunni Muslim Al Khalifa royal family has been criticised for violating the human rights of groups including dissidents, political opposition figures, and its majority Shia Muslim population.

Bahrain developed the first post-oil economy in the Persian Gulf, the result of decades of investing in the banking and tourism sectors; many of the world's largest financial institutions have a presence in the country's capital. It is recognised by the World Bank as a high-income economy. Bahrain is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Gulf Cooperation Council. (Full article...)

Selected article -

The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR; Arabic: مركز البحرين لحقوق الإنسان) was a Bahraini non-profit non-governmental organisation which works to promote human rights in Bahrain, which was founded by a number of Bahraini activists in June 2002. The centre was given a dissolution order after its former president Abdulhadi Al Khawaja was arrested in September 2004 a day after criticizing the country's Prime Minister, Khalifah ibn Sulman Al Khalifah at a seminar in which he blamed the Prime Minister for the failure of widespread economic development for all citizens. The BCHR is still banned by the government, but has remained very active.

In 2013 the organisation was awarded the Rafto Prize for its work. (Full article...)

Selected picture -

A photograph of a fish market in Bahrain
A photograph of a fish market in Bahrain
A photograph of a fish market in Bahrain

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The 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix (formally the 2014 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 6 April 2014 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the third round of the 2014 Formula One World Championship, the 900th Formula One World Championship event, and the eleventh running of the race. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the 57-lap race starting from second position. His teammate Nico Rosberg finished second and Force India driver Sergio Pérez took third. It was Hamilton's second victory of the season and the 24th of his Formula One career.

Hamilton accelerated faster than Rosberg off the line and overtook him at the first corner. Both Mercedes drivers pulled away from the rest of the field and Rosberg conserved fuel which allowed him to attack Hamilton before the first round of pit stops on lap 19 with his teammate successfully defending the lead. He extended his advantage over Rosberg over the next 22 laps before an incident between Pastor Maldonado and Esteban Gutiérrez caused the safety car to be deployed and his lead was reduced to nothing. Following instructions to bring the cars safely to the finish, Rosberg immediately battled Hamilton for first place, but was unable to get ahead of him and Hamilton maintained a steady advantage when his teammate's soft compound tyres were worn out to win the race. (Full article...)

Did you know -

  • ... that Mina Salman's harbour, in Bahrain, was initially unsuitable for ocean liners and that these ships had to anchor up to 6 km (3.7 mi) offshore until the construction of a deep-water wharf in 1962?

More Did you know (auto-generated)

  • ... that Bahraini businesswoman Yara Salman founded a beauty salon, a medical center, an entertainment complex, and a restaurant in the past decade?
  • ... that infectious diseases specialist Jameela Al Salman has supported the development of medical robots and called their use in Bahrain a "pioneering experiment"?
  • ... that as part of Bahrainization, the Bahraini government prohibited foreigners from driving taxis?
  • ... that the 2021 film West Side Story was banned in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain, likely due to the transgender character Anybodys?
  • ... that Tala Bashmi played on the Bahrain women's national football team for seven years before opening a restaurant in a Manama hotel?

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  • WikiProject Bahrain

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